2.4 year old won't play with others

[Peagle]

Hi,
Don't know if I am being totally over sensitive (am 32 weeks pregnant so could well be!)

My 2.4 year old dd doesn't really like other children, she is very selective about who she will play with and get upset if other children come to play with her. We go to lots of play groups and see lots of friends and she has two little friends who she adores and plays with excellently but if we are at a play group and a child comes to play alongside her she gets upset and walks away from the toy, she won't tolerate other children playing alongside her at all unless she is the one that instigates it.

Someone at play group today made a comment that really upset me about my dd behaviour and now I'm worrying that there is something wrong or if I should do something differently. I've just been letting her get on with it and nurturing the relationships that she has developed herself.

Any advice would be much appreciated!

Hi, your wee girl sounds totally normal, sometimes people say such thoughtless things. She sounds great.

Both my DDs were like this OP. They're 10 and 6 now and both totally sociable and have friends. I always think that we expect DC to socialise with little strangers too much!

Perfectly normal at that age. They should be playing alongside others first, then transitioning to playing with others over time.

Thank you for your comments, you have made me feel much better xx